Howard Dean: Democrats Need Religious Voters

Howard Dean says Democrats must have faith in their ability to attract religious voters.

The former presidential candidate, who will speak at this weekend's Oregon Democratic Convention in Eugene, says his party must do a better job of winning the support of evangelical Christians, who have voted Republican in recent elections.


To that end, Dean recently appeared on Pat Robertson's "700 Club." The appearance wasn't without its bumps. Dean had to later apologize to gay-rights leaders for incorrectly stating during the program that the party's platform said "marriage is between a man and a woman."

Still, Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said in an interview with the Register-Guard newspaper that he hopes to eventually make another appearance on the Christian Broadcasting Network - and that he's encouraging rank-and-file party members to discuss faith and morality.

"Our Democratic values are American values," Dean said. "Most people in this county, including evangelicals, think it's immoral to let children go to bed hungry at night. They think it's immoral not to have everyone in some kind of health insurance."

The convention will give party members in Oregon a chance to get more acquainted with the idea. It offers a half-day training session on religious outreach, an important part of the Democratic Party's attempt to extend beyond its core secular issues.

But Amy Langdon, executive director of the Oregon Republican Party, said Democrats are so out of step with religious voters on issues such as abortion and gay marriage that the approach has little chance of working.

"I think they'll be hard-pressed to make the case to the faith community that somehow the Democratic Party serves their interests," she said.

The religious outreach is part of an overall emphasis in this convention on training Democratic activists for success at the ballot box and in policy-making.